Drug Policy Alliance

THE DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE AIMS TO END THE WAR ON DRUGS, REPAIR ITS HARMS, AND BUILD A BETTER APPROACH GROUNDED IN HEALTH, EQUITY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS. SINCE OUR FOUNDING IN 2000, WE HAVE ADVOCATED AT EVERY LEVEL - LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL, AND INTERNATIONAL - TO CHANGE LAWS, ADVANCE JUSTICE, AND SAVE LIVES.

ADVANCING MARIJUANA JUSTICE. THE MOVEMENT FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION HAS GROWN EXPONENTIALLY. BUT IN 2021 THERE WERE STILL MORE THAN 300,000 ARRESTS FOR POSSESSION, AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE SUFFERED THE MOST UNDER PROHIBITION ARE NOT BENEFITING FROM THE BURGEONING LEGAL INDUSTRY AT THE SCALE THAT IS NEEDED TO REPAIR THE HARMS OF DECADES OF PROHIBITION AND PUNISHMENT. DPA SERVES AS THE LEGALIZATION MOVEMENT'S TECHNICAL ADVISOR AND MORAL COMPASS CENTERING COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT, RACIAL EQUITY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MARIJUANA POLICY. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PAST YEAR:- SPEARHEADED EFFORTS TO REPEAL MARIJUANA PROHIBITION IN CONGRESS WHILE LEADING THE MARIJUANA JUSTICE COALITION, WITH ALLIES LIKE THE ACLU AND CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS - SUPPORTED EFFORTS TO DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA IN SEVERAL JURISDICTIONS, PARTICULARLY THE SOUTH, THE MIDWEST, AND OTHER PLACES WHERE LEGALIZATION IS NOT POLITICALLY VIABLE BUT THE IMPACT OF PROHIBITION HAS BEEN SEVERE- ADVOCATED FOR THE FAITHFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GROUNDBREAKING RACIAL EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE PROVISIONS IN NEW YORK'S LEGALIZATION LAW.

OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE CONFERENCES AND SPECIAL PROJECTS.DPA FUNDS AND PARTNERS WITH STATE-BASED, CONSTITUENCY-BASED, SINGLE-ISSUE, AND SMALLER NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. WE DISBURSED $314,000 TO 18 ORGANIZATIONS ANNUALLY THROUGH OUR GRANTS PROGRAM AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO OUR NETWORK OF FUNDED PARTNERS. WE ALSO FORM ALLIANCES WITH NON-DRUG POLICY GROUPS ON SPECIFIC SHARED PRIORITIES, FACILITATE REGIONAL CONNECTIONS AMONG ALLIES, ENGAGE PROMINENT ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM, AND CULTIVATE TARGETED CONSTITUENCIES. EVERY OTHER YEAR WE HOST THE INTERNATIONAL DRUG POLICY REFORM CONFERENCE, THE PREMIER GATHERING OF THE REFORM MOVEMENT, WITH THE NEXT CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER 2023.HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PAST YEAR:- SUPPORTED 18 ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH OUR ADVOCACY GRANTS PROGRAM- SHARED OUR EXPERTISE WITH COALITIONS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TO DECARCERATE PRISONS AND JAILS, REFORM BAIL PRACTICES, ADDRESS POLICING, ADVANCE AN ANTI-RACISM AGENDA, END CRIMINAL IMMIGRATION PRACTICES, AND MORE.

TREATING DRUG USE AS A HEALTH ISSUE, NOT A CRIMINAL PROBLEM. CRIMINALIZATION IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE DRUG WAR, WITH VAST INVESTMENTS IN PUNISHMENT AND SCANT SUPPORT FOR SERVICES. TODAY, DRUG POSSESSION IS THE MOST ARRESTED OFFENSE IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH MORE THAN ONE-MILLION ARRESTS IN 2021. AT THE SAME TIME, OVERDOSE IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH, WITH MORE ONE-MILLION LIVES LOST IN THE PAST 20 YEARS. RATES ARE SKYROCKETING AMONG PEOPLE OF COLOR. DPA ADVOCATES A HOLISTIC SOLUTION: EXPANDING ACCESS TO HEALTH AND HARM REDUCTION SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED THEM WHILE ENDING CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR DRUGS. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PAST YEAR:- DEVELOPED AND SUPPORTED CAMPAIGNS TO ADVANCE OUR POLICY MODEL IN MORE THAN A DOZEN STATES- CONVENED NATIONAL ADVOCACY TABLES TO BUILD OUR MOVEMENT'S CAPACITY, POWER, AND COLLABORATION, INCLUDING WITH GROUPS WORKING TO DECRIMINALIZE PEOPLE FOR OTHER CONDITIONS AND IDENTITIES - CAMPAIGNED TO INCREASE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR HARM REDUCTION AND INCENTIVIZE STATES TO INVEST IN HEALTH SERVICES INSTEAD OF CRIMINALIZATION- SUPPORTED THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DECRIMINALIZATION POLICIES- ADVANCED OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTERS

MAKING SURE CIVIL SYSTEMS HELP AND NOT HARM. THE DRUG WAR HAS SEEPED INTO MANY AREAS OF OUR LIVES BEYOND THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM IN HEALTHCARE, CHILD WELFARE, EMPLOYMENT, PUBLIC BENEFITS, HOUSING, DRUG TREATMENT, IMMIGRATION, AND MORE. SURVEILLANCE, NONCONSENSUAL DRUG TESTING, MANDATORY REPORTING, AND ZERO TOLERANCE HAS LED TO FAMILIES SEPARATED, PEOPLE MADE HOMELESS, DENIED EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL BENEFITS, INTERGENERATIONAL POVERTY, AND MORE. DPA SEEKS TO ELIMINATE PUNISHMENTS IN CIVIL SYSTEMS TO HELP FAMILIES TODAY, AND TO ENSURE WE DO NOT REPLICATE THE HARMS OF THE DRUG WAR WHEN EXPANDING SERVICES AS ALTERNATIVES TO CRIMINALIZATION. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PAST YEAR:- DEVELOPED A CAMPAIGN TO ELIMINATE WORKPLACE DRUG TESTING FOR PRIOR MARIJUANA USE, TARGETING PLACES WHERE IT IS LEGAL AND INDUSTRIES WHERE USE OUTSIDE OF THE WORKPLACE HAS NO IMPACT ON SAFETY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ORGANIZING FIGHTING FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE- SUPPORTED CAMPAIGNS TO ELIMINATE NONCONSENSUAL DRUG TESTING OF PREGNANT PEOPLE AND THOSE GIVING BIRTH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ORGANIZATIONS FIGHTING FOR REPRODUCTIVE AND FAMILY JUSTICE- ADVANCED A REPEAL TO THE BANS ON SNAP AND TANF BENEFITS FOR PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS AND THOSE WITH FELONY DRUG CONVICTIONS- HOSTED A DRUG RESEARCHERS' ROUNDTABLE, A MONTHLY VIRTUAL MEETING FOR ACADEMICS AND RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD OF DRUG POLICY, CRIMINOLOGY, AND ADDICTION AND RELATED FIELDS TO PRESENT THEIR WORK TO FELLOW SCHOLARS, ACADEMICS, RESEARCHERS, AND DRUG POLICY ADVOCATES.